Looking much like the Epcot Center in Disney World, Montreal’s <a href="http://www.ec.gc.ca/biosphere/default.asp?lang=En&amp;n=3C2E8507-1" target="_blank">Biosphere</a> is in fact a museum dedicated to the environment. Originally built as the United States' pavilion for the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/video-buckminster-fuller-institute-announces-2010-challenge-winner/" target="_blank">1967 World Fair Expo</a>, the dome was repurposed into a museum in 1990. The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/lpas-explorocean-newport-beach-museum-is-draped-in-green-capped-with-solar-panels/" target="_blank">interactive museum</a> initially showcased the water ecosystem of the Great Lakes region, but has since expanded to encompasses environmental issues such as climate change, air, eco-technologies and sustainable development.

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Biosphere of Montreal

The Biosphere is one of the only museums of its kind, dedicated solely to the environment and environmental education.

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Biosphere of Montreal

Each of the halls in the museum is dedicated to a series of rotating exhibitions, such as recycling, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/epa-to-provide-clean-drinking-water-to-families-near-fracking-sites-in-pennsylvania/" target="_blank">water issues of the world</a>, and even trash trackers, teaching visitors just what happens when they throw something away.

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Biosphere of Montreal

Most recently, Inhabitat visited the <a href="http://www.ecouterre.com/montreal-artists-transform-industry-garbage-into-high-end-fashions/" target="_blank">O.N.E. Fashion exhibition</a>, which featured pieces by 16 designers who upcycled consumer garbage into innovative fashions.

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Biosphere of Montreal

The geodesic pavilion was originally designed by <a href="http://inhabitat.com/50-year-old-buckminster-fuller-project-in-ohio-gets-a-7-million-upgrade/" target="_blank">Buckminster Fuller</a>, but several green technologies have been added since the additional buildings were constructed inside in 1995.

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Biosphere of Montreal

Inside of the orb, two types of wind turbines- a horizontal domestic model and a vertical commercial model- were installed to educate the public, and provide green energy.

Although Inhabitat visited in the winter, the Biosphere has a lush <a href="http://inhabitat.com/gorgeous-green-roofed-2-bar-house-springs-up-in-menlo-park-ca/" target="_blank">green roof and indoor garden</a>, which reduce energy needs for the building as well as extend the park inside the sphere.

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Biosphere of Montreal

When the museum was established in 1995, a geothermic system was also installed, drawing from an open loop in the water table 90 meters below the surface.

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Biosphere of Montreal

The sphere is also surrounded with a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/floating-pool-could-clean-the-water-in-pragues-vltava-river/" target="_blank">natural wastewater filtration system</a>, made up of indigenous wetland plants that treat 80% of the building’s wastewaters.

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Biosphere of Montreal

The Ecoological Solar House sits in front of the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/the-roskildes-beautiful-geodesic-dome-looks-like-a-tortoise-in-a-field/" target="_blank">geodesic sphere</a>.

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Biosphere of Montreal

The self-sufficient solar powered house is a model home not for the future, but for the eco-conscious of today. Created with a minimal environmental footprint, it fuses energy efficiency with comfort. <a href="http://inhabitat.com/electric-utility-to-buy-university-of-marylands-solar-decathlon-winning-watershed-house/" target="_blank">Solar panels line the roof</a>, and it is positioned to maximize solar efficiency.

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Biosphere of Montreal

The building materials are durable yet recyclable, and sustainably sourced.

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Biosphere of Montreal

Thermal solar panels heat and cool along with a radiant floor, and a green roof and wall aids in water filtration, insulation, and provide edibles for the inhabitants.

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Biosphere of Montreal

Both the Biosphere and the Ecoological <a href="http://inhabitat.com/ignatov-architects-super-efficient-solar-equinox-passivhaus-tracks-the-sun/" target="_blank">Solar House</a> teach visitors that greening their lifestyles is not only easy, but effective and necessary.

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Biosphere of Montreal

From adaptive reuse of the World Fair Pavilion to setting up an eco-house of the future, the Biosphere Environmental Museum is an icon of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/montreals-historic-fairmont-the-queen-elizabeth-hotel-grows-its-own-produce-on-an-edible-roof-garden/" target="_blank">modern environmentalism</a>.

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Biosphere of Montreal

Looking much like the Epcot Center in Disney World, Montreal’s Biosphere is in fact a museum dedicated to the environment. Originally built as the United States' pavilion for the 1967 World Fair Expo, the dome was repurposed into a museum in 1990. The interactive museum initially showcased the water ecosystem of the Great Lakes region, but has since expanded to encompasses environmental issues such as climate change, air, eco-technologies and sustainable development.